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Sunday, February 5, 2017

In my last post, I looked at the bills filed by Collier County’s representatives in the Florida House and Senate for the upcoming session of the Legislature. I assumed one of the reasons they ran for office was to pass laws that would benefit their constituents, and that the bills they introduced or co-sponsored would be a good indication of who they were most interested in helping.

What I learned in that exercise was interesting, but I knew it was still early (the deadline to introduce bills is March 7), and I didn’t yet have a feel for the big picture. So this week, I dug a bit deeper, and in this post, I’ll share what I found.

Senator Kathleen Passidomo, representing all of Collier County, has now introduced 19 bills and co-sponsored four. They fall into a few broad areas (click Senate or House bill numbers for details):

After thinking about the bills Collier County’s representatives introduced, I realized that none of them is on MY priority list, and a few I outright disagree with. So whose priorities ARE they?

Well, each year before the start of Legislative Session, county Legislative Delegations across the state hold public hearings at which community groups and individuals can make requests of their representatives. I attended the Collier County Delegation meeting on November 17. Senator Passidomo and Representatives Donalds and Rommel were there; Representative Trujillo did not attend. The agenda and list of community groups and individuals that made requests are here.

So I thought I’d look at what was requested by the Board of Collier County Commissioners and the Collier County School District, to see if our representatives were addressing any of their concerns. And I did see some overlap (HB = House Bill; SB = Senate Bill):

Donalds’ HB 2175 makes Florida SouthWestern State College’s request for $1 million to fund its Physical Plant West Chiller Replacement.

Passidomo’s SB 588 and Rommel’s similar HB 249 make the Collier County Public Safety Chiefs Association’s request that first responders and substance abuse treatment facilities capture and share information about drug overdoses so that problem areas can be identified and prevention activities established.

However, I was disappointed that none of our representatives has proposed legislation to address the specific requests of our Collier County School District or any of the other requests of the Board of County Commissioners. I have emailed Senator Passidomo and Representatives Donalds and Rommel specifically asking them what bills they have introduced or co-sponsored to do so, and if I hear back from them, I will let you know.

Below are the priorities of those two entities.

Board of County Commissioners

Then-outgoing commissioners Georgia Hiller and Tim Nance presented Collier County government’s 2017 Legislative Priorities at the November 17 meeting. As summarized on the County website:

Issues of Major Importance

EMS Station at Mile Marker 63

Southwest Florida Promise Zone

Rural Areas of Opportunity (RAO) designation of Immokalee

Collier County Restore Comprehensive Watershed Improvement Project

Workers Compensation Insurance Reform

Continuation of the Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) Program

Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety

Funding Requests (State Appropriations) - $4.7 million

Goodland Dr. Rehabilitation ($2.0 million)

Replacement or Rehabilitation of 11 Bridges in Eastern Collier ($500,000)

Golden Gate City Outfall System Replacement Program (Phase I) ($950,000)

Superintendent Kamela Patton and then-School Board Chair Julie Sprague presented the 2017 legislative priorities adopted by the School Board at its October 11, 2016, meeting. They are:

Local accountability and assessment flexibility that includes an alternative, state-approved, locally developed student and educator evaluation system that measures state standards or proficiency and is correlated to Florida’s accountability system. Read more.

Substantially increase the Base Student Allocation (BSA) to at least the average level of funding nationally to cover inflation, workload adjustments and provide salary increases for teachers and other district employees. Through 2014, Florida ranked 41st in the country in per pupil spending at $8,755 compared to the national average of $11,009.

Restore funding for courses beyond a six-period day, including virtual education, dual enrollment and college tuition/administrative charges for dual enrollment, so that students can meet requirements for advanced study and industry certified programs without financially penalizing school districts.

Reduce the number of elementary schools identified as "low performing" requiring an extra hour of intensive reading instruction from 300 to 100 and provide districts flexibility in how the extra hour (180/year) is scheduled and provided to best meet student needs at the local level.

Ensure appropriate and reasonable per-student station cost limits for new school construction that account for the variance of construction costs in different local areas across the state, especially school districts located in coastal regions with higher normal costs of construction.

Restore protection for children to attend the school closest to their home by eliminating section 1002.31(2)(f) in the Florida statute regarding “Controlled Open Enrollment; Public School Parental Choice.” Read more.

As you monitor the news in the coming months, keep the above priorities of our local elected officials in mind, and ask yourself: Are their requests being addressed by our elected representatives?

A complete list of bills introduced by our representatives with links to the bills themselves can be found on their Florida Senate or House web pages: